The commander led his men in searching for Anastasia around the ship and the area where she had fallen, but they could not find her; no matter how much they searched. It was as if she had vanished into the sea without a trace.
After searching for a quarter of an hour with no results, the commander had no choice but to send a report back to the royal city, informing them that Anastasia had fallen into the water and could not be found. Since they were not yet deep into the sea, the messenger bird would take an hour at most to deliver the news.
Rosa’s eyes turned red as tears streamed down her cheeks. She kept staring at the spot where Anastasia had fallen, unable to accept that she had disappeared so suddenly. After all, the sea was relatively calm.
Dorothy stood nearby, unsure of how to feel. There had been two attacks within a day, and she was beginning to regret her decision to accompany Anastasia. She had never imagined that a simple journey to deliver provisions would turn into such a dangerous ordeal.
"What do we do now?" Miss Magdalene asked. Her heart ached at the thought of Anastasia being lost. She had believed that, with Anastasia set to become the next queen, her own status would rise, granting her more nobility and influence. She had never expected that the princess would fall into the sea and disappear.
"I have sent a message back. Reinforcements will arrive soon; men who are skilled at searching underwater," the commander replied. There were royal guards stationed along the waterways, trained in swimming and capable of holding their breath for long periods. If they could not find Anastasia, then she was likely already deep underwater.
Although no one spoke their fears aloud, the truth weighed heavily on them: with so much time having passed, she was likely dead.
"Her Highness is blessed; she will surely be safe," Rosa said, still staring at the water. The others echoed her words, though deep down, they knew that if Anastasia was still in the water, her chances of survival were slim.
At this point, the main priority was to recover her body and give her a proper burial.
The royal guards stationed at the shore arrived quickly and began their search. Given that the water was not too deep and the weather was calm, they had expected to find her easily. However, despite their best efforts, Anastasia was nowhere to be found. The situation was baffling. They expanded the search area, but the results remained the same. As time passed, hope began to fade, though they still clung to the possibility of retrieving her body.
Rosa sat on the deck, weeping. She felt that Anastasia had endured nothing but hardship. Just when she had started to experience some good fortune, fate had turned against her again.
An hour after the commander had sent his message, a reply arrived from the palace. The Queen ordered them to continue their journey north and deliver the supplies as planned. The search for Anastasia would continue.
The Queen, upon receiving the news that Anastasia’s body had not been found, sensed that this might be the best outcome. Since the attackers were from Gube, they might not have killed Anastasia outright. It was possible they had reached her first and taken her hostage. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ NoveIＦire.net
When the commander read the Queen’s response, he found her reasoning plausible. After all, there had been no large waves to carry Anastasia away so quickly.
The search teams came to the same conclusion: Anastasia must have been kidnapped after falling into the water.
Rosa still looked despondent after hearing this.
"Don’t be sad. The royal family will surely rescue her," Miss Magdalene consoled her.
"I know. As long as my lady is alive, everything else can be solved," Rosa said, before retreating to the room that had been prepared for Anastasia.
Miss Magdalene also turned to return to her own cabin when a man discreetly pressed a small, folded note into her hand. Startled, she almost reacted, but upon feeling the paper, she held back. Given the recent attack, she was wary, but something told her not to discard the message.
Once she was alone in her room, she carefully opened the note. Although it bore no seal, she had served the Queen for years and immediately recognized her handwriting.
The Queen had given her a secret task: she was to locate a small box that Anastasia had been carrying. The Queen described the box in detail and instructed her to keep it safe.
Miss Magdalene frowned. Over the past two days, she had noticed the box, Anastasia had treated it like a treasure, keeping it close at all times. Thinking about it now, it was likely something the Queen had been sending to the prince.
Since the Queen had gone to the trouble of sending her a secret message, the box must contain something of great importance. Without wasting any time, she decided to retrieve it.
As she left her room, she unexpectedly ran into Dorothy, who had just returned.
"Why are you back so soon?" Miss Magdalene asked. She had planned to find a safe place to hide the box in their shared cabin and she didn’t want anyone else to know about it.
"The soldiers have been inspecting the ship. They discovered that the real crew members were locked away in a hidden compartment," Dorothy said.
"Oh? Are they alright?" Miss Magdalene asked.
"They’re fine. The room had a small window, so they could still breathe. There were even two physicians among them. I wasn’t feeling well, so I came back to rest I have barely slept, and the sea has made me nauseous," Dorothy replied. She was really in no mood to do a thankless task.
Miss Magdalene nodded. She would wait until Dorothy was asleep before retrieving the box. Luckily, Dorothy was a deep sleeper and wouldn’t wake easily.
With this in mind, she went to see Rosa. Rather than searching for the box herself, which might raise suspicion, she decided to ask for it directly. Rosa was reliable and wouldn’t reveal anything unnecessary.
After Miss Magdalene described the box, Rosa recognized it immediately. Knowing it was a gift from the Queen to her son, she went to retrieve it. But when she searched the room, the box was missing.
She frowned, assuming Anastasia had moved it. She checked other places, but no matter where she looked, it was nowhere to be found. The room was this small, where else could the box be hidden.
Miss Magdalene’s concern deepened, and she joined the search, but the box was gone.
Fear gripped her. During the chaos of the attack, someone must have taken the opportunity to steal it.
She immediately left the room and sent a message back to the palace while also informing the commander. Given the Queen’s secret orders, the box must be extremely valuable; whatever it contained, they had to find it, and they had to do so discreetly.